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His Eminence the Most Reverend ArchbishopNikon (de Greve) of Japan served the émigré Russian church in France and Belgium before, during, and after World War II. After arriving in the United States he served as Bishop of Philadelphia and Bishop of Toronto before leading the Japanese Church in the late 1950s and early 1960s. After his return from Japan he was assistant to Metr. Leonty before being appointed Archbishop of Brooklyn.

Life

The future Abp. Nikon was born Alexis de Greve on February 19, 1895 in Batoum in the Russian Caucasus. His education followed that for a military career. He attended the Tiflis Military School, in Georgia, followed by the St. Paul Military Academy in St. Petersburg. He served with the Russian army during World War I and then with the White army during the Russian Civil War against the Bolsheviks. After the collapse of the army, he fled to western Europe.

In France, he attended the new St. Sergius Institute in Paris from 1925 until he took monastic vows with the name Nikon and was ordained to the priesthood by Mer. Evlogy in 1928. His initial service as a priest was in Bratislava in Czechoslovakia as a missionary. In 1935, Fr. Nikon was assigned to St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris. After the Germans occupied Paris during World War II he served as assistant to Metr. Evlogy, under house arrest. After Abp. Alexander in Brussels was arrested by the Germans, he was sent to Brussels, Belgium to lead the diocese in the absence of the archbishop.

Fr. Nikon was consecrated bishop of the Belgian diocese by Metr. Evlogy in 1946. Then, after Abp. Alexander returned to Belgium, Bp. Nikon departed Europe to join the American Metropolia. Upon his arrival in the United States on September 19, 1947, he was appointed rector of St. Tikhon's Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania. He was appointed Bishop of Philadelphia in 1948 and served in that position until 1952. Bp. Nikon was then transferred to Canada as Bishop of Toronto to serve there until 1957. With the return of Abp. Ireney to the United States from Japan, Bp. Nikon was elevated to Archbishop and elected in 1959 to serve as Archbishop of Tokyo and All Japan. There he continued the restoration of the Japanese church from the disastrous years of World War II. He returned to the United States in 1963 to serve as assistant to Metr. Leonty. Upon the death of Metr. Leonty in 1965, Abp. Nikon was named Archbishop of Brooklyn.